Decorating your home for the Christmas holidays can be exhilarating, but it can also be difficult to do it "just right" so that your home doesn't look gaudy or tasteless. To create an atmosphere of sophistication and grace, you really should have a plan before you begin. First, you need to decide on a theme, such as "The Nutcracker", "Santa's Workshop" or "An Old Fashioned Christmas", and build on that.
Most people simply collect their decorations over the years and put them up at random. Instead, try to think like a store's visual designer by picturing how you would like your home to look, then incorporate as many of the decorations you currently have as best you can. You may find that many of the ornaments and decorations you have collected can be used, but it may be that you need to give away or store others.
Christmas decorations really should create an air of timeless elegance, but it is important to incorporate personal touches and mementos, as well. Your "background" should include garlands of evergreens and holly, either live or artificial, around your home, especially on your mantelpieces and banisters. Placing decorative greens and colorful candles on your tabletops also adds warmth to your home. Next, add brightly colored ornaments nestled among the greens to add shine and interest.
Creating Christmas scenes such as the Nativity or a Christmas Village on tabletops or other larger flat surfaces will draw your guests to them. You can also have "theme" areas in your home, such as Santa and his elves with a waiting sleigh and reindeer, a miniature "skating pond" using a mirror and artificial evergreen trees, or old-fashioned Christmas carolers with Christmas music playing. If you have small children or animals, you do need to be careful where you place these things, especially if they are valuable or fragile.
